Chapter One: Just Starting Out

 Narrated by Caroline Masterson

"Wow, this place is huge!" I exclaimed as we stood in the open-plan living area.

"I know! For a starter apartment, it's amazing," Peter replied. "I could see us being comfortable here for years."

We stood quietly for a few moments, savouring the experience. I'd wanted to live in the city for most of my life, and now it was finally a reality. Despite being married, I still didn't feel like a grown up, and the large apartment exacerbated the feeling somewhat. Hopefully the feeling would pass soon.

The second thing I'd wanted to do for most of my life was become an actress. I'd been somewhat shy at school, and had only been in a few plays. It had really helped my confidence, and I loved the feeling of dressing up and pretending to be someone else. 

After managing to get a job as an uncredited extra - everyone had to start from somewhere! - I gazed out at the city skyline. I'd only been to San Myshuno a couple of times as a child, mainly because my dad loved visiting the Spice Festival. I'd fallen in love with the bustling atmosphere, with all the various food stalls - even when there wasn't a festival on, you could go and grab a banh mi or a plate of pork adobo. I loved all sorts of food, although I wasn't as good at cooking as I'd have liked.

Peter and I had both decided to become Spellcasters as teenagers, visiting the Magic Realm after graduation to undergo the Rite of Ascension. After unpacking some of our stuff, we decided to visit again. Despite it being mid-morning in San Myshuno, the sky was a deep blue, mixed in with pinks and purples. It was breath-taking, and I was only slightly sad that you couldn't live in the Realm permanently. 

Whilst Peter headed into the HQ building to try his hand at potion-making, I headed over to Casters' Alley, hoping to find some basic spellbooks and maybe a familiar, which I'd learned were very useful to casters of all abilities. 

Not long after we got back, there was a knock at the door. Two men and one woman were standing there; they introduced themselves as Salim Benali and Anaya and Baako Jang. 

"Hi, you just moved in here, didn't you?" Salim asked. "I'm just across the hall in 910."

"Oh, right!" I replied. "Yes, my husband and I just moved in. I'm Caroline, and he's Peter."

"Great to meet you two. I promise to try and be a good neighbour, although there may be times when I have people over or play music; I'm quite a creative person," he said.

"No problem," I smiled. "Everyone's entitled to a social life. We'll try to not be irritating, either."

"Where are you from?" he asked.

"Peter and I both grew up in Willow Creek," I explained. "It's a great town, but I've always wanted to be a city dweller. 

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. I grew up here in the Arts Quarter, actually. It's a lovely part of San Myshuno, and the Humour and Hijinks festival is pretty fun."

"Sounds great!"

A couple of days later, Peter had decided that he fancied growing some plants for potion ingredients, and went to visit Henford-on-Bagley, which he'd discovered had great gardening stalls. There was a little produce stand that circulated round the different districts of San Myshuno, but he'd wanted to see if there were any rarer plants available. 

Whilst he got to work planting his indoor garden - which he assured me was possible - I read the "Potion of Plentiful Needs" tome I'd picked up in Casters Alley. Peter preferred learning in a hands-on manner, whereas I liked to read things first to make sure I fully understood. When it came to fiction, though, Peter was totally happy with sitting down to read for hours. 

One evening... 

"So, when do you fancy starting a family?" Peter asked.

"Not quite yet," I replied. "I'd like to be earning a bit more money first."
"Fair enough," he smiled. "Kids do cost a lot."

"I've got that audition for that new range of headache pills soon," I said. "Hopefully it'll go well." I'd already failed one audition, which had been disappointing, although I knew that my chosen profession came with frequent rejections.

"Oh yeah. Hopefully I'll be bringing in a decent amount of money with my office job," he said, not quite as enthusiastically. Despite being an ambitious guy - one of the many traits I found attractive in him - he didn't have a firm idea of what he wanted to do. He'd reasoned that a generic office job would provide a broad range of experience that would be useful for any career.

I managed to pass the audition, and the evening afterwards, I headed over to the Plumbbob Pictures studios and got kitted out with my doctor costume. I felt a little tired, although I noticed that there was no coffee machine. I was able to grab a plate of spaghetti, though, which I ate carefully so that I didn't ruin my lab coat. 

I felt self-conscious as I stood on the stage. The blonde wig I'd been given was a little itchy, and I didn't quite understand why I had to tell a joke as part of selling headache pills, but I didn't argue. 

After recording the joke scene, I headed over to the hospital bed to "treat my patient". This, at least, was something I felt comfortable doing as I had plenty of experience going to doctor visits. Lastly, I stood beside the pill boxes and extolled their virtues, before the director called cut and I was done for the evening. I felt exhausted, but happy. I was on the road to achieving my dream, and hopefully it wouldn't too long before I got bigger roles.